Chapter 19

"It was nice talking to you," Stefan said to Elena.

"I miss you," I said.

"You too, guys. I hope to see you soon." It was a rushed goodbye, but Elena seemed to understand.

I hung up the phone and then turned to Stefan. "What are we going to do about her?"

Bella blinked. She was still standing underneath the awning of the house to avoid the sun. "What are you guys talking about? What's wrong with liking pink?"

"It's called a sire bond," Stefan explained.

"A what?"

"It's rare, but when someone has strong feelings for whoever's blood turned them, they can be bonded to them and will do whatever the other person wants and agrees with whatever they say. Meaning they lose free will, in a way." He crossed his arms.

She shook her head, laughing. "No, no, no. You don't understand. There's no mystical influence that made me beat Emmett. I just did. And why would I let Caroline beat me?"

"The sire bond," Stefan repeated.

"But I don't feel controlled. Nothing has felt different from back when I was human other than the vampy things, like the fast running and the thirstiness," she defended herself.

"That's how it was for Elena." Stefan ran his hand through his hair.

"And Tyler," I reminded him.

"Yeah, him too. It feels like you're in control. Elena was willing to do anything Damon told her because she had strong feelings for him before she turned." There was a hint of bitterness in his voice. "We couldn't figure it out for the longest time."

"Why not? Of course, she'd have strong feelings for him. Weren't they dating?" Bella asked. Stefan and I exchanged an awkward look.

"Um, yeah, we probably should have worked it out faster," he mumbled. I unconsciously leaned away, not wanting to explain the entire story. "It's unimportant. My point is, you don't feel any different and that's because of the sire bond."

She still looked unconvinced. "I'm not attracted to Caroline, though."

"The 'feelings' don't have to be romantic. Just because you're sire bonded to her doesn't mean you're a lesbian."

"Or bi," I chipped in.

"Um, yes, or bi. Edward didn't want you to turn so you're happy that Caroline turned you before he could have a say in it. Deep down, you blame him for not letting you turn for so long and she changed that."

Bella nudged the ground with her foot, looking guilty. With the silence that followed Stefan's explanation, it seemed that he was right. "I still need more proof. Ask me another one of those questions."

My gaze was on the sky as I shuffled 'favorite' type questions through my head. "Who's your favorite artist?"

"Do composers count? If so, then Debussy."

"That counts. And your favorite piece?"

"Claire de Lune. And yours?"

I had to think for a while. "Eternal Flame by The Bangles is a good one."

"I've never heard that one before. Can you play it on your phone?" she requested. I took my phone out and searched it up for her. The song had her looking underwhelmed when I played it which made sense; it was very different from classical.

"Wasn't it pretty good?" I asked for her opinion once the song was over. "It's one of the best songs ever."

"I'll have to agree with you on that one. But not because I just want to agree with you. I'd never heard that song before but now that I have, I see that it is better," she reasoned, determined to prove us wrong.

"How is this not enough proof?" I said in exasperation. "What else can we do?"

Stefan spoke up. "Well, you could just arm wrestle Emmett. If he wins, the only explanation would be that Bella could beat him because of the sire bond."

"Okay. Emm-"

"Good idea!" Emmett agreed from inside the house. "You realize literally everyone here has supernatural hearing, right?" A couple of seconds later, the rest of the family, minus Carlisle and Esme, were out with us. The only one who wasn't staring at Bella was the one staring at Stefan. Edward's expression was hard to describe; there was guilt mixed in there among other things. A hint of anger flashed over his face as his eyes criticized him for his earlier comments.

Stefan dashed off and then came back with the boulder Bella and I had used on Monday. It wasn't as nicely shaped as Bella and Emmett's, but Bella had already smashed that one. "Here you go." He set it down on the grass, closer to the house so that Bella could still see from underneath the shade of the house. As Emmett sat down, I realized I wouldn't even have to go easy on him to prove my point. He was almost twice my size.

"Let's do this, Care Bear." He grinned and I placed my elbow on the rough surface of the rock. Our hands interlocked and Alice counted us off. When she got to three, we started. Right away, I knew I was going to lose. I felt like my hand was going to be crushed. It was almost like the bones inside were rubbing against each other. I held out for about as long as Bella had but Emmett still crushed my arm against the rock.

"Ow," I muttered, shaking my arm out. "Is that good enough?"

She nodded.

I don't know why, but I felt more comfortable sleeping outside. It wasn't quite hostility that I felt from the vampires around me, but something was definitely wrong. After Alice settled down from her excitement of being able to change Bella's mind about certain things, mainly fashion choices, she seemed a little spooked. So was Edward, but I don't blame him. After all, he did just find out that his girlfriend could effectively become my slave.

I politely excused myself from Alice's room and crept outside. She didn't mind that much, and Bella had been sleeping in Edward's room. In the living room, I scooped up a blanket and a pillow from the couch to take into the yard. When I passed by the kitchen, I grabbed a blood bag to sip on before I went to sleep. There were significantly more bags in the refrigerator since Carlisle had refilled the supply and Bella had stopped drinking blood.

I tossed the blanket and pillow down and crawled under, my head facing the rock. The night air was slightly chilly, but not so cold that I'd need another blanket. The yard was almost silent, the only sounds being the slow cricket chirps, the quiet owl cooing, and, when I listened hard enough, Edward and Bella's argument.

The back door creaked open and Stefan walked out of the house carrying his own blanket and pillow. He smiled at me and set them down next to mine. "What are you doing?" I asked while he unrolled the blanket a couple of feet away from mine.

"Edward and Bella are upset about the sire bond so I wanted to give them space. I was going to sleep in the living room, but I heard you out here." He grimaced at the half-full blood bag I had next to my pillow so I moved it to the other side of me.

"It's nice to have company."

"Good." He looked less tense than usual, his arms limp at his sides and his face relaxed while he looked at the sky. "Why aren't you in the living room?"

"What do you mean? It's nice out here."

"Do you really think this is more comfortable than the couch?"

"Sure it is." The ground beneath me was hard and the grass was slightly moist. He raised an eyebrow and I conceded. "Okay, fine. I'm just avoiding everyone."

"I get it. I would be too."

"I don't blame them for being uncomfortable, though. I would be too. We've been staying here for almost two weeks with no end in sight."

"Do you not like it here?"

"It's not that." I tilted my head back. "I miss Mystic Falls. They have their own family here, and we have Elena and my mom. Why don't you want to go back?"

He looked away. "There's nothing there for me."

"Yeah? You know, you've said that before," I snapped angrily, thinking of the time he gave me the 'I was fated to come here' speech. "You're wrong. You can't just 'start a new life' because evidently, there are supernaturals everywhere you go so you can't exactly hide from them. You can't hide from me either."

"Creepy," he said, smirking. His teasing smile turned to a frown. "But why do you care so much?"

"Because," I breathed out, "I think that you are wrong. You say that there's nothing for you in Mystic Falls and yes, Damon is dead and Elena's probably not going to date you again. Tyler, Matt, and Jeremy don't really like you and there is a magic border that's keeping you from actually going into the town."

He looked confused. "You're just proving my point."

"No, I'm not. I think you forgot something when you were working out your 'I'm too good for Mystic Falls' logic."

"Then what is it?"

"Me," I said plainly. "I'll be there. After we kill Victoria and break the sire bond, I'm leaving. I'll go home, figure out how to break the border spell, finish college, and then spend the rest of my eternal life in Mystic Falls. If you don't come back with me, you might never see me again, just because 'there's nothing there for you'. I mean, you told me I was your best friend. I think that I deserve better than that." I crossed my arms and tried to ignore the tears that were starting to form in my eyes.

"Oh, Caroline, he said quietly, blinking quickly. "I didn't mean..." He stopped when my lip started quivering and grabbed me by the shoulders. His arms wrapped around me and I couldn't hold back the sobs.

"I'm sorry," I choked out.

"No, don't be sorry," he mumbled. His shoulder was wet with my tears but he didn't seem to mind.

"I just- I don't want to be alone after all this. Elena's weird now that her memory is messed up, and Bonnie's dead, and-" I was hyperventilating and he stroked my back to calm me down.

His voice was full of regret. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you like that."

I nodded, knowing that my face was probably as red as a tomato from all this crying. "I'm a mess," I said, pulling away.

He smiled, wiping his own tear from his face. "Maybe a little." I laughed in the middle of a sob and a weird noise came in its place. A light breeze passed us and I shivered. He grabbed the blanket I had loosely draped around me and wrapped it tighter around my shoulders.

"Th-thanks." I felt a bit silly being swaddled.

"So, are you going to sleep out here?" he asked.

"Yeah, you can go inside if you'd like." I turned away, ashamed of how I had just released all of my emotions at once.

"No, I think I'll just stay here." He laid down, not so close that we were touching, but close enough that I felt safe next to him.

"Okay." I closed my eyes.

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